Wounded
by Phoenix Oblivion
Summary: Goldpaw may seem like a normal, breathing cat, but his clan-mates certainly don't think so. The young tom has been abused and neglected since the moment he was born- and he is determined to find out why. But when the young apprentice realises that ThunderClan is not at all as peaceful as it seems, Goldpaw begins to realise that some secrets are best kept hidden...
1. Chapter1: The Beginning of the Story

**Author's Note: Okay, this is an exceedingly long fanfic that I wrote when I was about nine. I just read it again and realised it was actually okay, and so I thought I would publish. Okay… well, here is Chapter One. Hope you enjoy it!**

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**Chapter One:**

Robinkit was nervous: he had just reached his sixth moon and the entire clan thought that he was going to start training as a warrior apprentice. Of course his anxiety was not needed, Goldstar knew that his clan would accept the fact he wanted to be a medicine cat easily. His best friend, Moonpaw, would soon get over her grudge; it was only too obvious that she had a crush on Robinkit. She was angry for his ambition because medicine cats were not allowed to have mates.

Goldstar watched as Robinkit padded through the mass of Thunderclan cats so that he was standing on his haunches, looking up at Goldstar.

"Robinkit, do you promise to up hold the medicine cat code and protect your clan-mates until your last breath?" the words echoed out of his mouth easily. He remembered when he had been apprentice...

"I do," Robinkit's voice quivered with excitement. Shaking his head of the memory, Goldstar watched his the clan's medicine cat, Skyblood touched her muzzle against his shoulder.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I hereby give your apprentice name. Robinkit, from now onwards, until you earn your medicine cat name, you will be known as Robinpaw. ThunderClan welcomes you as their new medicine cat apprentice!" Look cheers echoed form the rest of the clan as they celebrated. Goldstar turned his head to see Moonpaw padding angrily into the apprentices den, her silver fur disappeared almost immediately; she did not congratulate the new ThunderClan medicine apprentice. Skyblood whispered something too quiet for him to hear at the apprentice, so that he wouldn't notice Moonpaw's hostility. He sighed. Her unkindness would only distract him from his training… of course, Goldstar knew enough about that. Robinpaw padded straight over to Goldstar once all the cats had dispersed. The sun was coming down and Robinpaw would best be getting some sleep, all the same, he waited until the apprentice arrived at the Highledge.

"They accepted it!" he said excitedly. Goldstar could not suppress a purr.

"Of course they would Robinpaw, you know, I once thought that Thunderclan would not accept me," he paused. Remembering the days of his apprenticeship, it was fair to say he had had an eventful one. Robinpaw looked intrigued.

"What was your apprenticeship like?" The question was inevitable. Goldstar smiled.

"That is a long and violent tale-"

Robinpaw's eyes widened, "How many border disputes did you take part in?"

Goldstar laughed as he listened to the eager tom speak. "As a matter of fact, I did not have a single border fight until I was a warrior!"

"Really?"

"Yes," Goldstar looked into the distance, reminiscing in the past. He had seen far too much far too young. "My apprenticeship was a more gory one. I saw death three times; I was almost murdered myself."

There was silence for a moment before Robinpaw spoke again, "Can you tell me the story?"

Goldstar smiled once more. "Maybe I can keep you awake for a while."

"Yes!" Robinpaw screeched.

"Not so loud!" Goldstar hissed playfully. Robinpaw immediately stopped talking and settled down beside the handsome leader of ThunderClan. "My story begins on the very first night, just after I gained my apprentice name…"

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**Very short chapter, and it needed a bit of editing. But here is the first Chapter of Wounded! I'll back in about three days with Chapter Two!**


	2. Chapter 2: The First Day (Goldpaw)

**Author's Note: Okay. Welcome to Chapter Two! This focuses upon the first day of Goldpaw's apprenticeship, so yeah: hope you enjoy it as usual.**

**And thanks for reviews from koryandrs and Keeralie Starflight.**

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**Chapter Two:**

_I can't believe it! An apprentice at last!_ Pride swelled up as the ThunderClan cats chanted my name. "Goldpaw! Goldpaw! Goldpaw!"

Well, half of the clan.

The other half just stood there, lashing their tales in anger and rage. I could never understand why those cats did not like me- no, they didn't just not like me, they utterly hated me! I suppose it was just my luck that half of that group were warriors.

Featherstar gazed down at me proudly, "Your mentor will be Fernshadow."

Fernshadow! Oh no, not Fernshadow! Immediately a beautiful jet-black queen with emerald green eyes stepped forward out of the group who hated me and padded over to muzzle my shoulder. Almost instantly, the clearing was divided: half of the group were chanting with victory, and the other half were rolling their eyes and shaking their heads.

I thought I might have heard a whisper, "Mousebrain. Why did she choose Fernshadow?"

I gulped as she muzzled my shoulder, knowing it could only mean trouble. Almost as soon as the crowd had moved back to their dens did Fernshadow slap me right on the cheek with her tail; run over to the edge of the camp and start to move towards the direction of the lake.

"Come on you mangy piece of fox dung!" she snapped as she dashed away. I felt humiliation smoke my mind and I unsheathed my claws in frustration. Suddenly a ginger paw pressed on my own, and I looked up to see Firestorm, a handsome light ginger tom standing over me. "Don't let her get under your fur," he murmured.

"How is it possible not to?" I lashed my tail. "Half of the clan hate me and I don't even know why!" I thought I might have seen a flash of fear fly across his face, but it disappeared almost immediately. "They don't hate you."

"How can you say that?!" more anger surged through me. "Damn Starclan! I feel so humiliated."

"Don't speak like that," Firestorm soothed, stroking my ruffled back fur with his tail. He gazed down at me fondly. "Thunderclan were just a little shaken by your-" he stopped abruptly and began washing furiously. At this I had had enough: _I hate being Thunderclan!_ Firestorm was probably only here because Featherstar had told him to do so. I bristled with fury and charged through the gorge and into the forest, ignoring the alarmed shout that erupted from the mouth of the tom. The scent of leaves and fresh kill darted through my nose, and the trees came up to meet me. For one thing, there was no way that I was going to the lake. If Fernshadow really thought I was going to just let her toy with me, she could think again. _I'll show them!_ I snarled to myself. Following my nose, I began to stalk through the forest, unsure of where I was going or what I was going to do. But the instinct of hunting came to my mind and I began to search the undergrowth for prey. That night, the forest was buzzing with animals foraging for food that they would add to their store. Soon, the aroma of squirrel hit me. Excitement coarsed through my body at the prospect of catching food; if my nose went closer to the ground, it would have been touching the rough dirt. The trail lead far away from the camp and near to the border of Windclan; I wrinkled my nose in disgust. The scent of the hills was horrible, so I took my nose away from that direction and back towards Thunderclan. For a moment I thought that I had lost the squirrel when all of a sudden I saw it. It was nibbling an acorn, unaware of the pain that it was about to endure. I smiled in delight, but felt a flicker of doubt run across my spine. _Could I catch something without any training?_ I shrugged the feeling off and dropped into a classic hunter's crouch, tracking the squirrel's every move. It was almost strange. I had never even been taught how to do the crouch, but I found myself falling into it instinctively. My tail didn't trail on the ground and I made no noise. I even surprised myself at how well practised I seemed.

As I drew closer, I felt a strange presence draw closer to me, like there was something stronger than my own skill egging me on.

Soon, the squirrel was only a mousetail away from my muzzle. I knew that I couldn't afford to make any sound or my prey would escape my grasp. My claws unsheathed smoothly and I shot forward, aiming for the squirrel's neck. The squirrel's eyes darted to mine, and it started to move, as if it was caught in slow motion. I dug my claws into the squirrel's exposed neck; the thing hadn't even moved a foxtail! I had been told stories of how squirrels were the hardest prey to catch in the whole forest. My chest puffed out in pride as I dug a small hole, and dropped my squirrel into it before covering it back up with earth. Once again, I felt a small prickle of confusion in my head. _How had I known what to do?_ There was estrange feeling of exhilaration flowing through my muscles. A kind of confidence, that made me feel more powerful than the stars above, like- like I knew everything already. _I don't need Fernshadow!_ I thought triumphantly.

Suddenly, the fresh scent of mouse wafted into my nostrils; my mouth dropped open and I started to drool. It was so inviting. I began to follow the scent like I had done for the squirrel, except this time, the trail led me all the way to the Shadowclan border. Using my sight instead of my nose, I discovered the unfortunate mouse basking in the shadow of a hawthorn bush, I grinned and the thrill of the hunt overcame me as once more dropped into a hunter's crouch, I crept around the bush so that I had a clearer sight of the mouse-

Then I exploded into action, my claws slid out and I pounced on my prey, expertly performing the killing bite

_This is easy!_ I thought. Even more pride flowed through my body as I buried it, so much that I did not notice that I had arrived near the lake. I turned, my interest in prey gone. I padded forward until I was sitting on my haunches by the lakeside; it was a vast area of water that must have taken up half of all the clans' territory. The ripples glittered in the sun and I gazed at my reflection in the water for just a moment, it caught my attention. It captured my imagination.

For a moment, I thought that I saw something else in the water, something larger than myself. My eyes narrowed and I moved in closer to the lake too see if what I had seen was truly real, but it had disappeared and I was left just staring at myself in the lake.

Suddenly, a huge shape glittered in the water and I gasped, turning around in shock. A flash of black cuffed my ear and I yelped in pain. The thing tossed me in the air like a moss ball and I rolled back along the shore. I tried to find my paws but immediately another flash of agony came from my ear, and I knew that I was pinned.

Fernshadow had caught me by surprise.

"How long does it take to get to the lake?" Fernshadow shouted. She pushed down harder and I gave out a yelp which was smothered by her body fur. She gave yet another yank at my ear and a stream of blood trickled down my face. The she-cat grinned. She was enjoying watching my suffer: I could tell by her triumphant look. It hurt so much. Her claws were unsheathed. I thought my ear was on fire.

"I was hunting!" I replied helplessly. Strange. For a moment, I was certain that I saw a sudden crack of pity flash across those deep emerald eyes. But her mask of hate seemed to then take control once more. The pain ran away for just a couple of moments, because I was sure that there was emotion hiding behind the jet black fur of Fernshadow. She saw the look, and she hit me with her free paw. A new burst of agony stabbed me chest, and I knew that Fernshadow would strive to find a problem in what I had done.

"What did you catch? A butterfly?" she sneered. Humiliation scorched inside and hate boiled up; I struggled for the first time but it only made her grin grow much wider. I realised that it was completely hopeless; that hurt more than the agony.

Panic, sheer panic.

"I caught a mouse and a squirrel!" I rasped. My eyes searched the heavens for some sort of hope that Fernshadow would reveal more pity, but she had been enraged by how I had noticed the last time.

"Lesson one: never lie," Fernshadow whispered. She scratched my pelt and I swear that I nearly fainted.

"I'm not lying, I'll take you to my kill," I rasped. The certainty inside that I was going to die there and then engulfed my body; I had never been more scared. Fernshadow's taunts and the wounds she inflicted upon me still haunt my dreams occasionally.

Fernshadow laughed. I was so terrified. "Fine, humiliate yourself." She dropped me to the floor; I fell in in a pathetic pile of fur and whiskers. I tried to find my legs but I was too weak to even raise a paw.

My mentor laughed and kicked me in the gut. Hard. "Come on you useless apprentice." She then knelt down and nudged me up with mock sympathy in her eyes. I looked at my fur, it was completey cacked with grime and filth, my usual golden pelt smothered by the earth. I began to hyperventilate in anxiety as I led Fernshadow away from the lake and back into the trees and bushes, as we walked, I stumbled several times, which caused another strike or blow to my head which sent me scrambling back to my paws and moving on in utter despair.

The scent of my own dead mouse came back as we neared the hawthorn bush where I had buried it into the ground. My eyes went back to Fernshadow for one uneasy moment; she must have taken it as one of surrender, because she raised her unsheathed claws with undisguised victory. My eyes widened. NO! I leapt aside, and the full extent of the blow rained down upon the spot that I had stood moments ago. I gasped at her ferocity and I ran away to the protection of the bush. I heard her hiss in annoyance and I looked around desperately for something that would provide protection. A wave of helplessness engulfed my senses and I realised that the only thing I could do was-

_Mouse!_ Looking around I realised this was exactly the same spot I had buried my second catch! I began to dig into the ground frantically, the dirt spilling into the sky. My eyes turned for just a moment, and they widened. Fernshadow had leapt right over the bush and was now advancing with pace in her stride. Determination rose up and my eyes flashed back down to the ground. I fumbled in there for a moment, my eyes darting around the hole I had created frantically, searching for the dead animal that could save my life- there! Reaching down, I hooked my extended claw around it and held it up like a shield, looking away, anticipating the fangs that would dig into my throat…

One eye opened in hope. Slowly, my eyes grew accustomed to the light once more, and I saw surprise and shock flying across Fernshadow's face. She could not suppress it, and I almost felt pleasure. Another spark of hope flooded ion my chest and I felt the numbness give way to a horrid sort of notted feeling. I dared not believe it was possible that I wasn't going to die.

"And where is the squirrel," her voice echoed with a sort of… quality. Instead of being crude with rage it was… a mixture of uncertainty and worry now. I was still hyperventilating slightly, my breath coming out at ragged and unconnected times.

"It- it- it's over here," I panted. I still had my guard up. There was no way I was going to let her sneak up on me unaware. I turned around with the mouse still clamped stiffly in my jaws, and I led my mentor through the trees back to the place that I had buried the squirrel. There was unbearable tension splashed in the she-cat's face.

We came to the base of the tree where my first catch had been stuffed into the ground. There was slight a hill where it had been buried and I turned back just in time to see Fernshadow's eyes narrowed with suspicion. I dug my claws into the earth as quickly as possible, looking for the grey fur that would be my saviour. It seemed like years before I saw my squirrel.

There was a silence. Those few moments seemed to penetrate every nook and cranny of ThunderClan's territory, quitenening even the loudest and most boastful robin. Silence, apart from the low whistle of the wind hitting the branches of the trees, and the small crunch of claws digging into the ground, and the rustle of prey amongst their nests and dens.

"Come on." Fernshadow's unceremonious whisper came into my sensitive eardrums. Her voice seemed like a low and quiet growl. It was almost as scary as my mentor's shouting. "We need to get back to the camp before were are missed. It is almost night."

I turned around and realized that she was right; it was sunset, and soon the night would capture the day in it's net of darkness. The moon was emerging with the stars and they glittered onto the forest floor, making the trees seem like a beam of light. Clutching my fresh kill like the world was ending, I followed my mentor back through the forest. For the first that day, I realized I was shaking, nerves had finally got the better of me, but they were calmed a little when I realised that I had cast some sort of brief truce between her and me. Fernshadow was bristling in annoyance, but I thought I could see something that seemed like pride somewhere in there. Her hostility had not broken but it had fallen, that is slightly. That didn't matter: I didn't care by how much. All I knew was that Fernshadow didn't think I was as bad as I she did before.

When we padded down the rocks and back into the camp, I ran my paw down the soft white stone. For the first time I wondered why it was quite so smooth, I moved along the rock wall so that I could feel for any cracks or bumbs in the wall but there were none.

"Hurry Goldpaw," a shout from Fernshadow sent him running back in her direction, the interest in the wall gone. Little did I know that the wall would be one of many things to help me later in my life.

I saw many questioning eyes fall upon Fernshadow and me as we began to pad through the camp. Some looked flustered; others quietly surprised. I stiffened as I felt the anxiety level inside me begin to rise; there was something about all of those eyes fixed upon my body that disturbed me slightly. What would Fernshadow tell those questioning eyes? Worry crashed down upon me. It seemed strong enough to be pain.

"Whose prey is this?" a voice came down from the Highledge; I looked up to see the grey fur of Featherstar emerging from her den. I gazed into those blue pools, they seemd to comfort me a bit.

Fernshadow spoke before I could reply, "Its Goldpaw's prey. He did well and acted upon my instructions well, Featherstar."

The Thunderclan leader's head nodded with pleasant surprise and she gazed at down at me from her height. She smiled in my direction and I felt myself anxiety almost instantly distinguished. I blinked. There was something about the way thay Featherstar held herself on the rock that- intriugued me. I stared at her eyes for a little longer, drowning in those blue depths, and my pelt began to prickle wth a feeling that I had not felt before. Maybe it was the fact that she was probably the very first cat who had praised me, or simply the fact that she smiled down with something more than just pride.

"Yeah right," a hard voice cracked me away from my own thinking. I turned to see a snowy white tom eyeing me with pure hostility. "I reckon that Fernshadow caught that just so other cats would resect him a little more! The useless lump of fur."

That did it. The moment of clarity that I had experienced suddenly seemed completely irrelevant. Emotions inside me had risen to breaking point; I could not bare any more eyes on me, or any more nerves or worry flashing through my muscles. Anything, even death was better than this. The moon was rising and it's beauty scared me. Something prickled on my spine. I couldn't help. My paws were acting on their own as I ran away to the apprentice's den. Teasing eyes followed me the entire way; I looked back for just a second. Had Fernshadow told them something; the look she gave me sent me flying into faint. I fell down on my moss and cried, cats were still staring at me. Damn you Starclan, I thought. I wish I had never been born!

There was one thing I had not understood though. The look Fernshadow had given me hadn't been one meant to annoy me; my mind had been playing tricks.

It had been one to comfort me.

**Robinpaw**

Robinpaw's mouth dropped open as Goldstar told him the tale of his first unbearable day as an apprentice. "Oh great and holy Starclan! I hope that my first day isn't like that."

Goldstar smiled weakly, memories flying around in his mind. He knew there was no way that Robinpaw could truly understand the pain that he had felt on that day. He had never been abused; Goldstar had been from the day he had been born. The clan had gazed down on him like he was some sort of prey to be feasted upon, and even though over the moons, Goldstar had come to understand why half the clan had hated him, he still wasn't fully trusted by everyone. They still gazed at him with painstaking suspicion.

_You only understood with a bit of help from Goldenstrike,_ a small voice echoed in his head.

"You wait until you hear the rest: that was nothing compared to the moons to come," Goldstar said to the apprentice quietly.

His eyes widened, "Really!" Goldstar smiled again and a little touch of amusement came to his voice.

The Thunderclan leader nodded. "In fact, _the next night _would prove to be more eventful than that…"

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**So yeah, what did you think of that? I know it was probably overwritten at times, but hell to that. It remember spending a lot of time writing this story, so plz review and tell me your thoughts!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Prophecy

**Author's Note: Hi guys! Thanks a lot for reviewing Chapter Two! I really appreciate your feedback.**

**So, moving on into the story, this whole chapter s actually just a rather long dream sequence including a prophecy. So enjoy! They'll be a few dramatic events and a short tie into the mystery of why the clan hate him as well. Just remember that I ****_did_**** write this a bot four years ago, so some of the content may seem a bit far-fetched and overwritten at times- I'm trying to fix this- like Goldpaw's relationship. :)**

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**Goldpaw's POV (Dream): **

That night I was haunted by horrible nightmares. They flashed by at an amazing rate. Fernshadow tearing my throat out was just one of them, but there was something about the way she did it that terrified me. Some sort of look in her eye, one splashed with pity yet burning with hate. Her claws were already stained with my own blood, and my eyes closed in horror as she lunged down and dug her teeth into my soft neck fur. Suddenly, the picture changed to a huge amount of cats watching me. Every single cat in all of the clans growled at me with glares and mocking glances. Then I was running, running for dear life. I turned back for just a moment to see all of the cats that had previously been watching me tearing through the ground after me. I turned around and tried to run, but found my paws were stuck in some sort of muddy substance. I tried to move but my struggles just seemed to make me sink deeper into the ground. The cats shouted horrible things, things that I could never describe, but they hurt, they hurt a lot.

I was rescued from almost dying in my own dreams. At the paws of a warrior from StarClan.

Apparently, all my dreams were getting out of control, and if the cats that chased me that night had actually caught up with me, I would have been murdered in my own sleep. It almost happened, but just when they were about to leap on me and sink there claws deep into my body, a huge beam of light extended from the sky; it touched the nearest of my assasilants and it evaporated into the air at touch. My eyes turned in shock to see a cat the exact colour of the ray descend from the heavens above, a cat with stars in his paws. One so huge and proud he looked like he could destroy the cats that chased me with a flick of his tail. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what he did. He flicked his tail and the beams grew much brighter, they shone over all of the cats for just a moment, and their eyes locked onto the light; then quite literally, right in front of my eyes, all the hunters disappeared in unison.

I was too shocked to speak, I gazed at my rescuer, attempting to speak some sort of reply, but the only sound that arose from my throat was a strangled sort of sound. So peculiar: the thing that actually shocked me wasn't the fact that he had saved me from a painful death, what shocked me wasn't how he had destroyed my nightmares, what shocked was how this amazing cat looked _exactly _like me, only bigger and much, much stronger. He had an air around him that I could never truly put in words, a kind of- pure confidence and excellence that made me seem extremely small and unimpressive in comparison. There was something about this cat's appearance that intrigued me. He was not only calm and cool, but he held himself up with a dignity that I had never seen before. His fur was sleek and the stars in his shone to perfection, he was very, very handsome and you felt you could simply just... trust him.

"Greetings young Goldpaw," the cat murmured. His voice was noble and deep with a twinge of arrogance; I could tell that he was a cat who took pride in how he looked. He padded up to me and touched his nose to mine in greeting.

"Are you, are you a cat from Starclan?" I asked hesitantly. I was not exactly sure if I was _allowed_ to speak in the presence of a tom so… pure.

"Yes," the cat smiled back. I was overwhelmed by how friendly he was. "Yes I am."

I began to gain some comfort and confidence. With a little less tension I looked into his eyes for just a second, when suddenly something extroadinary happened. As I looked, suddenly, his eye disappeared and was replaced by the image of something red. My eyes narrowed, unsure of what to think, but then to my amazement, two huge beats cracked the air and I leapt back in shock. Then it happened again, and again, the red thing hitting two beats every second.

Then I realised what it was.

A heart.

The cats voice echoed into my eyes again. "I'm here to give you three things: the first, what I am showing to you now.

"This is your heart, Goldpaw, your own heart," I gasped at this speech, but he hushed me comfortingly to calm my stress, and he began to speak again. "This keeps your body working, punping your blood around you to keep your system alive. But it does more than this; it holds one of the most powerful things in life-

Love. Now, in your life, you have experienced very little of this because of all the hate from your clanmate's. No one has ever expressed appreciation to your existence… well… I don't speak the truth. Poor young Goldpaw, you are more loved than you think, there is a cat in Thunderclan who likes you very, very much," interest flashed across my body, but deep inside, I knew it was more than this. It was like stepping into unfamiliar territory. Love? Appreciation? What did all these strange words mean? I had never heard of them-

Maybe I had, love. Yes, I did, know what it meant. Because, I, felt it for someone.

A smile, somewhere in the dark. "Yes Goldpaw. Yesterday, you experienced love for the first time. Featherstar, she praised you, am I correct. Something like this has never happened to you before, happiness satisfaction is something that you have never seen or had. Yet, Featherstar showed you exactly this, and, then your feelings exploded, for the emotions locked with in you were suddenly released, and they latched onto the nearest thing it could see: Featherstar."

I was quiet for just a moment, before I found words run out my jaw before I could prevent them from doing so. "Is she the one who loves me?"

Suddenly, the image of my own heart disappeared from my eyes and was replaced by the cat's pelt and whiskers once again. I felt slightly dazed, for the knowledge that I had just ingested was overwhelming, too much was coming in and it was coming in much, much too quickly. Emotions were bowling inside me and I felt sweaty and weak.

"Yes Goldpaw. She loves you because she saw all of the hate you were enduring, and, like you, her emotions exploded inside and caught the closest thing, you."  
For a moment, I just stared at him, not quite believing what I had been told, in love? Were me and Featherstar, _in love?_ The words replayed themselves over and over in my mind but I couldn't quite get my head round it. There was something about those words that didn't- sort of- make sense. In love… in love… in love… STOP SAYING THAT!

A small element of anger entered my eyes, and not knowing what I was doing, I snapped coldly at the cat. "What was the second thing you wanted to show me?"

For a moment, it dawned on me how impolite I must have sounded, and shocked, I opened my mouth to apologise to the Starclan cat, but he hushed me with a flick of his tail. "I know what I have told you will be difficult for you to truly understand for awhile, so it is not necessary for you to say sorry.

"On a different note, I must answer your question.

The cats eyes suddenly turned serious, "The second thing I am going to show you is something that could change your life." Interest sparked in my eyes, he must have seen it. He did not laugh though, I could sense there was some sort of nervousness in the air, an anxiety that for once, did not radiate from me.

"Look into my eyes, Goldpaw," he murmured. I wasn't exactly sure if I wanted to do, I had still not fully captured the concept of being in love, and he was probably about to show me yet another soul shattering revealation. But uneasily, I did as I was told and stared right in amongst those amber depths. Worry prickled down my spine as I wondered what would happennext.

Then suddenly, the amber evaporated once again and it was replaced by a boiling day in the middle of Green-leaf. I blinked in the sunlight, dazzled by the heat and rays. As my eyes came accustomed the light, I gasped.

In the relaxing shadow of a fern plant, there was a paw. That was it, just a paw, it did not bleed; it was just there, a cat's paw in the shade.

Suddenly the plant reached down and grabbed the paw, it did not struggle though. As it was lifted, the leaves entangled themselves in the paw, curling around its fur and holding it against its root. For a moment I thought I saw something glint. I realized that it was a claw, and it seemed to be glowing, glowing a sort of beautiful colour that I could not describe.

Quite suddenly the entire image disappeared and it was replaced by the serious voice of the cat. "The shadow in which you hide is a dangerous one. Don't let it consume you…"

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**Yeah I know, the thing with Featherstar is really cliched and cheesy. But to be honest, I couldn't care less. **


	4. Chapter 4: Featherstar

**Author's note: Okay. So here's chapter three. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

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**Chapter Three:**

**Goldpaw's POV:**

A cat nudged me and I woke up; blinding colours burst back into my eyes. The prophecy! A surge of excitement hit me like a gust of wind. His warrior ncestors had sent him, of all cats, and omen. _The shadow in which you hide is a dangerous one. Don't let it consume you._

Then suddenly, the image of Featherstar came back to my mind and I shivered. _Oh Starclan, was I really in love with the beautiful ThunderClan leader?_

Again, I remembered her smile, and the gentle way she had praised me when I brought my squirrel and mouse into camp. _Yes, I did._

"You look cheerful," a voice echoed into my mind. My vision cleared and I saw a brown tabby tom with a comfortable look on his face. It was Thrushtail. A tom with one long scar on his flank; he was very popular in Thunderclan. After all, it was hard not to be popular when you were the deputy. Not only that he was also extremely friendly and nice to be around. It was a surprise that he did not have a mate yet.

"You're the only warrior apprentice in Thunderclan at the moment, looks like you face a hard apprenticeship!" his voice was kind but there was no doubt that he meant it. I jumped to my feet and began to stretch self-conciously. Being caught by Thrushtail asleep had made me jumpy.

"Am I on patrol?" I asked. I couldn't say that I fancied the idea of being in patrol: I felt a sudden urge to see Featherstar again.

"No, but the elders want you to check them for ticks." _Oh no!_ I had heard stories about the horrors of ticks. Apparently, they were beastly bloodsuckers that stuck to the fur of Thunderclan elders. _Oh well. If I'm going to prove myself to ThunderClan, I'll just have to put up with it._ I got up and padded away from Thrushtail and out into the clearing.

Another day ruined.

"Come on," Fernshadow said impatiently. "I haven't got all day you lazy apprentice."

_Damn,_ I thought. _What horrors has she got in store for me?_ I felt a knot begin to form in my stomach. I couldn't face another day of hurt and humiliation. I hadn't even got my ear checked out yet. I felt foolish as I padded across the camp to the elder's den with Fernshadow, but another emotion, one unexpected flew through me this time. Was it my imgination, or did Fernshadow just mutter something about being sorry to him?

As we padded in, Fernshadow welcomed the old bedraggled elders. My first impression was that they would be old and grumpy; the tom there had a long scar through his left ear but he a kind enough look. The queen, however, I wasn't so sure about. There was certain air of boredom in the way she held herself. I tipped my head to one side. She was constantly running her tongue along the patchy flecks of white on her muzzle with an annoyed look on her face.

As Fernshadow introduced me to the cats, I noted that her voice didn't seem quite as harsh as yesterday.

"I'm Scarface," said the old tom with a kindly face. "This is my best friend, Shetland."

Shetland? Where was the second part? Scarface must have guessed what I had been thinking because he replied immediately. "She decided she did not want a warrior name when we brought her in."

"Shouldn't you be proud of your warrior name?" I asked shyly. To be honest, I wasn't shy at all; I was just being cautious. When it came to me, it was useful to size up a new cat you were talking to to see if he or she was friendly or hostile. I had already got the impression that Shetland was going to be one to avoid but Scarface seemed ok, even though there was some element of- danger in his eye. Scarface smiled and opened his mouth to reply but Fernshadow interrupted-

"Stop asking stupid questions," she snapped harshly. Hurt gripped my body; it chilled my insides. I felt the beginning of a growl rising in my mouth. I choked a little, struggling to hold it down. _Starclan in heaven!_

My eyes flashed away from Fernshadow and back to Scarface. Obviously, he may be old, but nothing was affecting his eyesight. The ageing tom had caught the emotion that had bled through my face that moment. His eyes narrowed slightly but I broke our gaze and stared at the ground.

"So, ticks-" my head came to the side as I heard Shetland speak for the first time. It surprised me at how soft her voice was. Her scarred and ruffled fur made her look like some sort of monster, but her voice made her seem like some sort of pampered kittypet. "I suppose, as the only apprentice of Thunderclan at the moment, you're going to be doing a lot of these things, so let's get down to buisiness."

I cringed a little when Fernshadow sent me a small smirk: she clearly new what grooming the elders was like. Gritting my teeth angrily, I drew in a deep breath before attempting to smile without showing a flicker of contempt. Even if her attitude to me had gained friendliness, Fernshadow still despised me.

I was only half listening as the elders began to explain the principles of removing ticks; the other half of my concentration was fixed on the entrance to the den: I could just about see Featherstar through the gap. I smiled for just a moment as she padded thorugh the camp, speaking perhaps momentary words of greeting to the cats of her clan.

My ears flicked forward so that I could hear a conversation between her and a cat I didn't quite recognise. "Have you see Goldpaw at all? I wanted to talk to him about something."

Hope shone through my fur; for once though, it didn't die as the other cat immediately sent a barbed jibe about me. Wiping the grin of my face, I put all my concentration onto Shetland again. I realised that they were all looking at me expectantly as if they were waiting for me to do something.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "What was that?" Scarface chuckled a little but all Shetland did was roll her eyes and mutter something about me being typical.

I saw the two elders begin to open their mouth again but another sentence arose from Fernshadow's mouth. "Come on you git Goldpaw, I haven't got all day."

That did it. I lost my temper completely. A growl echoed from deep within my throat, "You think that you can just push me around Fernshadow. I don't understand! Starclan, I'm a cat as well you know, you mangy piece of fox dung!" I spat at her feet but to my surprise, she didn't react, so I carried on. "Half of this stinking clan look at me like I'm a stranger who's just come in and tried to murder Featherstar. I hate every single one of you! Why can't you just treat me like the cat I am." With this I ran out of the elder's den, a newfound sadness burning inside. I knew I was close to breaking point again; I wanted to bury myself into my nest, alone with no other apprentice's to play with. My life was unbearable. I had nothing to live for.

"Goldpaw?" My head turned from the direction of the apprentice's den and into the blue eyes of Featherstar. Instantly, I felt my face heat up a little about being taken by surprise. "I've been looking for you for a while," she continued, "are you free?"

I nodded, but I suppose I was lying. Glancing back, I noticed that Fernshadow hadn't come back after me so I followed Featherstar away from the ThunderClan camp and into the musty smells of the forest. Trees swayed in the morning breeze and I breathed in the fresh air. It was somewhat relaxing. Featherstar did not stop as I did, so I had struggle after her. As we moved I noticed that we were heading back towards the lake, were Fernshadow had taken me yesterday, but we soon swerved off that path and towards the west of Thunderclan territory.

Soon, we reached a place in the territory that I had never seen before. It was standing under the shade of a yew, and there was hollow inside it. I wondered if we were going to go in, but we didn't.

Featherstar turned around so that she was facing me, and we gazed at each other for a while, before she began to speak.

"So, Goldpaw," she said quietly. To be honest, I wasn't completely listening: I was drowning in the colour of her fur. I felt like some sort of disease had caught hold me because I was boiling hot. The forest was flying madly around me, and I was certain I was going to faint. "I needed to say something to you-" she cut of at this moment.

I wanted her to continue so I cut in, "Yes Featherstar."

She still did not speak, but I saw a clear yet unspoken message radiating from her eyes. She moved forward slightly and I swear my pelt froze-

We were too close, I could see every fleck, every tuft of fur on her face…

"Featherstar?" a voice echoed from a nearby bush. Immediately, she pushed me into the hollow of the tree. I gasped at the sudden change in her demeanour, but he had the sense to stay quiet as a cat he didn't recognise padded out of the gorse. "Fernshadow was asking for Goldpaw, do you know where he is?"

Featherstar shook her head in an even fashion. "Because he caught the prey yesterday I thought I would see his skills but he went out hunting and I lost him. He's probably back at camp now."

The cat nodded and the leader followed the cat back into the forest, that is, after casting a sidelong glance at me that said that I had to get back to camp.

Swallowing the anger inside, I padded out shaking the leaves from my pelt. I followed the scent trail back to the ThunderClan camp. When I arrived, the camp was unusually quiet, as if Starclan had cast a spell on them. My eyes searched for my mentor and they soon enough found her eating a rabbit by the fresh kill pile. I padded up, expecting the worst.

"Am I going to get an apology?" she snapped as soon as I came into view. My eyes narrowed, unsure of what to think. Surely she should be apologising to me for how she insulted me? Turning away, I padded towards the apprentice's den again, only to be called back by an annoyed Fernshadow. As I looked back, I noticed there was a sort, of emotion buried in her eyes that I couldn't quite identify. "Goldpaw, apologise, right now!"

Something in her voice left me in no doubt that she meant what she said. I apologised, sighed deeply, and then moved back into the apprentice's den where I slept.

That night I didn't dream, but I heard something strange. My eyes flickered open for just a second, shifting in and out of conciousness. There was some sort of commotion going on out side- I lazily angled my ears in the direction of the noise and rested my head on my paws.

I didn't hear much of what was being said, but I was sure that I recognised a voice taling with a strange sort of, madness that I had never heard before…

The next morning I remembered nothing: I had been awake for too little time.

It was really dark that morning, so I wondered if I should get up anyway. Ignoring the voice inside my head that tempted me back into my nest, I padded outside.

I was walking so blindly that I did not notice Featherstar standing in front of me, and I crashed right into her.

She let a small call mew of laughter, not loud enough to wake anyone up though.

I stood up and began to wash self-conciously, feeling extremely embarrassed at how I had been so clumsy. Then I realised that it was Featherstar I was talking to and I fell quite. A little red in the face, she signalled wordlessly over into the direction of her den. I caught the message well enough. I did as I was told and followed her into her den, where we touched muzzles each other for the first time.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

**Goldstar**

Goldstar breathed in the delicious memory. How his life had changed so dramatically and so quickly. Those words would give him the determination to overcome later problems, yet so cruel: it would also cause half his problems.

Robinpaw looked absolutely mesmerized. "The ThunderClan leader loved you when you were just an apprentice! How much older could she been? Half of the clan wanted you to fail! Great Starclan, you weren't kidding when you said that day would be more eventful than the first."

Goldstar laughed at the shocked look on the apprentice's face. It was only then that he realized it must have been midnight. "How late I've kept you up Robinpaw. You really must get some sleep now."

"But-"

"No, don't complain. I'll tell you the rest of the story tomorrow, Robinpaw. I promise."

The medicine cat apprentice brightened up immediately, "Ok!"

When Robinpaw had disappeared into Skyblood's den, Goldstar settled down into his nest and closed his eyes peacefully, memories flooding back to him. He remembered the first time he had slept under the Highledge. The second day of his apprenticeship. He remembered Featherstar's pelt pressing up against him. Love shining between them…

It had been the start of a chain of murders that would change the young Goldpaw's life.

**Robinpaw**

Robinpaw twitched; he wanted Goldstar to tell him the rest of the story. The story that had been started was the best he had ever heard. Events smashed through Goldpaw's life like lightning. He recalled all the pain that the ThunderClan leader had described. It must have been agonizing to actually be Goldpaw.

The dreams that fell through him all included what he imagined Featherstar to be like and how beautiful she must have been. What Goldpaw must have felt to have his pelt pressed against hers: they were peaceful dreams, but the part of the story he dreamt most about was the mysterious prophecy. The one that had been sent to Goldpaw by the cat that looked like an older copy of himself. Robinpaw attempted to interpret what the prophecy meant- after all- he was a medicine cat apprentice. He found it harder than it looked. The elders had told him tales of the prophecy, fire alone can save the clan. That had meant a cat, fire meaning Firestar; perhaps the words just needed to be put in the right place. The paw had been resting in the shadow of a fern plant? Fern- fern, a fern plants shadow, Fernshadow! Robinpaw snapped awake, "It has something to do with Fernshadow!"

"Quiet! I'm trying to rest," Skyblood snapped.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. He tried to settle down again but he couldn't get the queen that Goldstar had described out of his mind. She had a part to play in the prophecy!


End file.
